Field
The present application relates generally to property management, and more specifically to systems and methods for multi-family property owners (referred to herein also as landlords, which by reference also refers to owners, managers, leasing agents, etc.) to manage a utility expense pass through system for resident utility charges by specifically consolidating third party retail electric provider charges with traditional landlord billed utilities and services such as water, sewer, trash, pest, cable service, pet fees, and rent.
Background
Multi-family property owners maintain and control individual units. When a resident moves into a unit at a multi-family dwelling, that resident is in charge of obtaining electric service for their specific unit. Each time a resident moves in and out of a unit, there is an added expense to the property owner from a utility company for the transferring of service from one customer to another. Also, individual residents are unable to negotiate compellingly with utility companies for highly competitive rates, whereas multi-family property owners often have enough volume to demand better rates. Such negotiation is especially attractive in areas with deregulated utility services.
In such deregulated localities, residents need to contract directly with a retail electric provider. This requires the resident to independently obtain information and rates from one or more retail electric providers. Once a retail electric provider is selected the resident will be billed directly from that entity in addition to other bills he may receive from the landlord including rent, water, sewer, trash, pest control, etc.
Moreover, in deregulated areas such as portions of Texas, landlords are subject to certain fees based on events out of their control. Specifically, in Texas when a resident moves out of his apartment, the landlord is liable for a reconnection charge on each such occasion. These costs vary from, for example, $3.00 to $54.00 on each occasion depending on the location of the property. Therefore, improved systems and methods for combining information from multiple services are desired.